Breeders' Cup Juvenile: West Coast is the best coast

Of the previous eight Breeders’ Cup events held at Santa Anita, six winners of the $2 million Juvenile were based in Southern California. Only head losses by He’s Had Enough (2012) and Lookin At Lucky (2009) have kept it from being a clean sweep for West Coast-based runners in the Juvenile.

Surprisingly, there have been some very nice prices among those winners, including Texas Red (13-1 in 2014), New Year’s Day (10-1 in 2013), and Action This Day (26-1 in 2003).

With six weeks to go before the 32nd Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 5 at Santa Anita, the leading West Coast runners include Klimt and Straight Fire, who just happen to hail from the barns of the last two Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winners held in Southern California.

Not surprisingly, Bob Baffert, who trained New Year’s Day as well as Midshipman (the 2008 winner at Santa Anita), has the top Southern California-based prospect in Klimt, the winner of the Del Mar Futurity.

Baffert believes “the fastest horse has the edge” in a race like the Juvenile.

Klimt, a son of Quality Road owned by Kaleem Shah, has won three straight since losing his debut in June at Santa Anita.

Klimt, who worked five furlongs in 1:00.40 on Wednesday at Santa Anita, is pointing to the Grade 1, $300,000 FrontRunner Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 1.

In the Del Mar Futurity, Klimt defeated Straight Fire, trained by Keith Desormeaux, who won the 2014 Juvenile held at Santa Anita with Texas Red. Straight Fire, a son of Dominus, won a maiden race by 10 1/2 lengths in his second start at Del Mar on Aug. 6. He may have to learn to harness his speed if he is to be successful around two turns.

Not This Time, the dominant winner of the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill last Saturday, heads the list of shippers for the Juvenile. Not This Time, a half-brother to 2015 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Liam’s Map, won a maiden race at Ellis Park by 10 lengths in his second career start.

Trainer Dale Romans said that perhaps aside from multiple Grade 1 winner Kitten’s Joy, Not This Time “is the best horse I ever had.”

Romans said Not This Time will train up to the Breeders’ Cup, but he has not yet decided when the horse will ship. Romans is not buying into a California home-field advantage.

“I think they have had some really good horses the last few years,” Romans said. “It’s not a matter of geography, it’s just that Baffert and others are out there with a lot of good horses.”

Romans may have another colt for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Singing Bullet, the second foal out of the Grade 1-winning mare Life At Ten, won a maiden race Sept. 2 at Ellis Park and is being pointed to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland on Oct. 8.

Among those pointing to the Futurity are Classic Empire and Royal Copy. Classic Empire won the Bashford Manor but wheeled and unseated rider Irad Ortiz Jr. at the start of the Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga. Royal Copy finished second in the Hopeful, a neck behind Practical Joke.

Practical Joke is one of two potential BC Juvenile contenders trained by Chad Brown and owned by Seth Klarman and William Lawrence. Favorable Outcome, a six-length maiden winner, is the other. Brown said he is pointing both to the Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont Park but could reroute one to the Breeders’ Futurity.

Trainer Todd Pletcher, who won the 2012 Juvenile at Santa Anita with Shanghai Bobby, has the impressive New York-bred stakes winner Syndergaard pointing to the Champagne on Oct. 8.

Theory, an impressive maiden winner at Saratoga who was once believed to be done for the year, was put back in training and worked a half-mile in 50.50 seconds on Tuesday at Belmont Park. Pletcher is leaning toward running him in the six-furlong Futurity at Belmont on Oct. 15, where he would really have to be dazzling to warrant his wheeling back in three weeks in the Breeders’ Cup.

– additional reportingby Jay Privman

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